Engine Launches Flight, Car Rental Booking

Business travel booking platform Engine, formerly Hotel Engine, has launched its flight and car rental booking capabilities, broadening beyond its original hotel focus.

The platform is pulling in air and car rental content from multiple sources, including direct supplier integrations, aggregators, global distribution systems and New Distribution Capability sources, according to Engine VP of supply and strategy Florent Silve. It has access to “all major airlines and most car rental companies,” Silve said.

Engine in recent weeks announced a $140 million investment from global private equity firm Permira to help support its expansion beyond hotels. The platform lets companies book business travel without fees or a contract and offers such additional services as a flexible booking subscription, a group booking tool and a direct bill service that covers a company’s travel costs and consolidates them into a single invoice.

Adding cars and hotels enables Engine to be an “all-in-one platform” that is “modernizing business travel at scale,” according to CEO and founder Elia Wallen.